Chapter 52
「Ah, I found another one!」
「Oh! Well done, little miss!」
「Yeah! Shuka, you’re amazing!」
「Hehe. Of course!」
Shuka smiles as she picks up the treasure chest and collects the medal inside.
That makes 22 so far.
「Hey!」
「Shuka!」
「You’re doing pretty well!」
Just then, the three groups that had been searching separately approach, waving their hands.
After regrouping, they hand over the medals they’ve collected to Shuka. As everyone is talking—
「Shh! There’s something nearby.」
Suddenly, one of the members puts a finger to their lips and whispers.
The members of Happinesstrong instantly fall silent. As they strain their ears, they can indeed hear the voices of several people.
Shuka and the others ready their weapons, preparing for an attack.
After waiting a moment, the owners of those voices appear.
「Hm!」
「Enemies!」
「Alright! We finally get to battle!」
Lucifer, Destroy, and Rayleigh. The three members of Dark Faith.
Tension runs through Shuka and the others at the prospect of their first PvP battle in the main event.
「Right! Come, ye wandering spirits! Now is the time to unleash your grudges—」
「Wait, wait, wait!」
Just as Shuka is about to kick off from the ground, Lucifer hurriedly steps in front of Destroy, who had already begun his incantation.
The members of Happinesstrong raise their eyebrows, wondering what’s going on with this unexpected action.
「Huh? What is it?」
「Are you an idiot? Starting a battle so suddenly is beyond barbaric! I’ve always said we should be noble, haven’t I? Right, Rayleigh?」
「Hm? Oh, yeah! Lucifer’s right!」
「…Ah, okay, okay. First time I’ve heard that, but whatever. I’ll wait, so hurry up and do your thing.」
As Destroy shrugs his shoulders, Lucifer takes a step forward.
He clears his throat, then pulls back his right foot, places his right hand on his chest, and extends his left hand horizontally to the side before bowing his head.
It’s a Western noble’s bow—a bow and scrape.
「My friend has been rude. Let’s start over with a proper greeting. We are the dark guild seduced by darkness—」
At this point, Lucifer spins around once on the spot.
Then, crossing his arms before suddenly spreading them wide, he declares:
「Dark Faith! Remember it well!」
The members of Happinesstrong stand frozen with their mouths agape.
Except for one.
「Hey, Big Sis Nana. What’s that big brother saying?」
As Shuka asks Nana standing next to her, Nana starts speaking in a flustered manner.
「Um, well, they’re saying they’re a guild called Dark Faith. And, um, I think they’re saying… ‘Nice to meet you for the battle’?」
「I see! We’re called Happinesstrong! We definitely won’t lose!」
Shuka’s innocent words create an indescribable atmosphere.
After a moment, Lucifer clears his throat again and readies his staff.
「Happinesstrong, is it? I have no interest in those about to vanish, but very well. I shall engrave that name in my mind. Let’s go, Destroy! Rayleigh!」
「Yeah!」
「Everyone, let’s go!」
「「「「Yeah! 」」」」
Immediately after, Shuka and the vanguard of Happinesstrong kick off from the ground.
Nana and the remaining rear guard take a step back and begin their incantations.
Meanwhile, Destroy steps forward with an axe in hand for Dark Faith.
「Come forth from the darkness, jet-black fang! Devour all in your path! Dark Bite!」
「Crimson hellfire! Engulf our enemies and reduce them to ashes! Inferno Blaze!」
Lucifer and Destroy each unleash their level 3 dark and fire magic respectively.
A black fang and a massive fireball hurtle towards Happinesstrong’s vanguard.
The wide-area attack hits the three at the front.
Surprised by the amount of damage, they cry out 「Whoa!」
At the same time, Nana and the others’ magic strikes Lucifer and Rayleigh directly.
However, the two don’t fall and maintain cool expressions.
「Violent Turn!」
Destroy, closing the distance, activates his axe’s level 3 skill—Violent Turn.
Gripping the axe with both hands, he advances while spinning around his body’s axis.
As he collides with the three at the front, who have already been hit by Lucifer and Rayleigh’s magic, they disappear into particles.
「Huh…?」
Shuka and the others, who had been confident of an easy victory due to their numerical advantage, inadvertently stop in their tracks, faced with unexpected strength.
「Come forth from the darkness, jet-black fang! Devour our enemies! Dark Bite!」
「Crimson hellfire! Engulf our enemies and reduce them to ashes! Inferno Blaze!」
Seizing the opportunity, Lucifer and Rayleigh unleash their level 3 magic again. This time, it’s aimed at Shuka and Gaia.
Just before it hits—
「Stone, rise up and become a shield to protect us! Stone Wall!」
Two members of Happinesstrong’s rear guard chant the earth magic—Stone Wall, causing two rock walls to appear in front of Shuka and the others.
The first rock wall blocks the fireball, while the second stops the black fang.
Confirming this, Gaia turns to Shuka standing next to him with a serious expression.
「Little miss! We can’t beat these guys! Leave this to me, and escape with everyone else!」
「What? No way! Shuka will fight too!」
「Listen to me! …Don’t you want to win for your dad and mom’s sake?!」
「…Yeah. But if we do that, you’ll—!」
「I’ll be fine! Once I’ve helped you all escape, I’ll follow and definitely regroup with you later!」
「Really?」
「Yeah, really! I promise! Now go!」
「…Okay. We’ll be waiting, so make sure you come!」
Saying this, Shuka starts running towards Nana and the rear guard.
「Ah, hey!」
Destroy, having just killed the other members, notices Shuka running away and kicks off the ground, determined not to let her escape.
At that moment—
「Stop, Destroy!」
「Huh? Why?!」
「Just stay put!」
Destroy sighs but obeys Lucifer’s words and stops in his tracks.
「You guys! I’m counting on you to take care of the little miss!」
Gaia shouts loudly, then spreads his arms wide in front of the three members of Dark Faith.
「I won’t let you pass! If you want to go, you’ll have to defeat me first!」
☆
Meanwhile, at the broadcast studio—
(Lucifer’s one thing, but Gaia’s really getting into it too…)
When he had visited Happinesstrong’s guild home before, Gaia had mentioned that he 「likes shonen manga.」
So, Isamu inwardly chuckles, thinking that this series of actions must be influenced by hot-blooded protagonists.
Well, this development is juicy for the broadcast.
Teshigawara will surely hype it up.
Thanks are due to Gaia.
Thinking this, Isamu waits for Teshigawara’s commentary, but he doesn’t start speaking.
Finding this suspicious, Isamu shifts his gaze from the display screen to Teshigawara and—
(What?!)
Teshigawara is pressing his fingers against the corners of his eyes, his shoulders trembling slightly.
(Was there something to cry about?! …Oh crap! This’ll be a broadcasting accident at this rate!)
Isamu frantically racks his brain, trying to figure out what to do.
Eventually, he comes up with the only way to get through this situation.
(No choice but to do this…!)
Isamu takes a deep breath and opens his mouth.
「This is quite a heated development! We can’t take our eyes off it!! …Oh, player Lucifer has stepped forward! What will happen next?!」
☆
Lucifer lowers his staff and takes a step forward.
「You… no, let me call you sir. What is your name?」
「Name? I’m Gaia!」
「Gaia, is it? Let me ask you one thing. Do you really think you alone can hold off the three of us?」
「Yeah. I haven’t been gaming for nothing! I’ll buy enough time for the little miss to escape.」
As Gaia says this, Lucifer laughs with a pleased 「Kukuku.」
「So you’re like a knight protecting his princess, are you? …I like it! I’ll take you on alone here.」
「That’s mighty kind of you! But are you sure? If you act so confident, you might end up getting hurt.」
「Hmph. Spout all you want. Destroy! Rayleigh! Don’t interfere.」
「…Sigh. You’re really free-spirited, aren’t you? …Fine. But don’t use up too much MP.」
「Can’t be helped! In exchange, let me handle the next one!」
「Very well, that’s fine. Now then—」
Saying this, Lucifer opens his menu window.
「Come forth! Magical sword Bloody Judgment!」
As he shouts this while moving his fingers, the staff in his hand disappears, replaced by a one-handed sword with a red-tinted blade—Crimson Edge—appearing before him.
Lucifer takes it in hand and slowly approaches Gaia.
This Crimson Edge is what he obtained when he was running the Trial Caverns with Isamu and Destroy before.
Until now, Lucifer had specialized in dark magic, but thinking that 「it consumes too much MP and I might run out in the middle of the event,」 he had allocated a few points to one-handed swords before the event.
Of course, the name 「magical sword Bloody Judgment」 is one that Lucifer came up with on his own.
「Now then, Gaia. —Here I come!」
「Yeah, bring it on!」
Lucifer kicks off the ground, closing the distance to Gaia.
「Haa!」
He raises the sword high and swings it down diagonally to the left.
But Gaia narrowly avoids it.
「Rising Upper!」
He activates the level 2 hand skill—Rising Upper, throwing an uppercut while jumping.
It lands perfectly, but Lucifer shows no sign of panic.
「Oh, that’s a skill I haven’t seen before. However, it doesn’t seem to be much of a threat. Or is the level difference between us too great?」
「Rising Upper!」
Ignoring Lucifer’s calm words, Gaia activates Rising Upper for the second time.
Auto-pilot kicks in, making him crouch as a preparatory movement for the jump.
Immediately after, as he extends his arm and leaps—
「What?!」
Lucifer jumps back at the last moment, avoiding the uppercut.
「Hmph, I didn’t expect you to use the same technique. I’ve been underestimated. …Well, it’s my turn now!」
Saying this, Lucifer swings his sword horizontally.
「Haaa!」
This time, he pulls his arm back greatly and thrusts at Gaia’s chest.
「I’m not done yet! Double Slash!」
He further activates the level 1 one-handed sword skill—Double Slash, slashing twice.
「Tch!」
Gaia grimaces as he takes several backsteps to create distance.
「From your condition, it seems you don’t have much HP left. As I thought, the level difference between us was too great.」
「…Looks like it. But it’s not over yet! Raging waters! Unleash azure wrath upon our foes! Azure Geyser!」
「What?」
The level 2 water magic—Azure Geyser—that Gaia activates creates magic circles above and below Lucifer.
Immediately after, water gushes out forcefully like a geyser from the magic circle at his feet.
Carried by the water, Lucifer is thrown into the air.
Then, water is released from the magic circle in the sky aimed at Lucifer, slamming him into the ground with its pressure.
「Hmm. Not bad… is what I’d like to say, but unfortunately for you, I still have plenty of HP left.」
「Damn!」
「However, you fought well. To show my respect, I’ll send you off with this dark magic. Come forth from the darkness, jet-black fang! Devour our enemy! Dark Bite!」
Lucifer activates his familiar magic.
Black fangs appear from the magic circle, heading towards Gaia.
「Farewell, brave one. The next time we meet… Hm?」
In the middle of speaking with his arms spread wide, an arrow appears above and behind Gaia’s head.
The arrow flies straight towards Gaia and—
「Wha—!?」
The moment it hits, Gaia disappears into particles.
「…W-What just happened?」
「Ah, that was Homing Shot.」
「Homing Shot?」
As Lucifer stands dumbfounded, Rayleigh and Destroy approach him, talking.
「Yeah, it’s the third skill you can learn with a bow. When you shoot an arrow, it automatically flies towards the nearest enemy. Well, its power isn’t that high though.」
「Heh, I didn’t know there was such a skill. Too bad you got your kill stolen, Lucifer.」
「…I see.」
Lucifer mutters, his fist trembling.
Immediately after, he starts running in the direction the arrow came from.
「Ah, hey!」
「Hm? What’s up with Lucifer?」
「Who knows! But it’s not good for him to act alone! Let’s go too!」
「Yeah! Hey, Lucifer! Wait up!」
☆
After running for a while, Lucifer spots a group of players ahead.
Even at a glance, there are over twenty people, indicating it’s quite a large guild.
Still, Lucifer doesn’t back down and approaches the players.
「Looks like there aren’t any more medals around here. We should move on to the next— Hey! Enemy!」
One of the group members shouts upon noticing Lucifer.
Immediately after, the players all ready their weapons.
「Huh? Don’t tell me he’s alone?」
「No way. You’re not thinking of challenging us alone, are you?」
「Haha. There’s no way, right? How stupid would that be!」
「Definitely!」
The players show no sign of caution, mocking Lucifer.
However, Lucifer continues to advance without changing his expression, as if he hasn’t heard them.
When he’s only a few meters away, he opens his mouth.
「…May I ask one thing? Was it you who used Homing Shot earlier?」
「Yeah, that was me! Oh, don’t tell me you were the one who got hit?」
「…I see. So it was indeed you who interfered with the heated battle between the Demon King and the hero.」
「Huh? What are you talking about? Are you okay in the head?」
Ignoring the very reasonable comment, Lucifer extends his hand towards the group.
「O death god starved for life. Respond to my call and quench your thirst now. Grim Reaper.」
And then, in a tone unlike his usual one, he calmly recites the incantation.
A huge magic circle is drawn at the feet of the players, and from it emerges a death god wielding a scythe.
「Hey, what’s this?!」
「Crap, run!」
Immediately after, the death god swings its scythe with both hands.
The wide-area attack hits two-thirds of those present. Half of them disappear into particles.
「Oh, there he is! Hey, Lucifer!」
「You went off on your own… Wait, there are tons of enemies! And you’re using Grim Reaper!」
Rayleigh and Destroy rush over to Lucifer.
Lucifer speaks to the two over his shoulder.
「…You came at a good time. Please, lend me your strength. We absolutely cannot forgive them.」
「Huh? Oh, of course that’s fine, but… Well, it looks like they’re ready to fight too.」
「Yeah! But there are too many! Looks like we can’t afford to skimp on MP here!」
「Indeed! No choice then! Rayleigh, let’s do it!」
「Yeah!」
Saying this, Destroy and Rayleigh extend their hands.
「O death god hungry for life! Answer my call and quench your thirst now!」
「O crimson flames! Descend to earth and reduce all creation to ashes!」
Huge magiccircles are drawn above and below the players.
「Grim Reaper!」
「Crimson Bonfire!」
As they call out the spell names, a death god emerges from the magic circle on the ground, while a massive fireball at least ten meters in diameter appears from the magic circle in the sky.
The death god’s attack eliminates half of the remaining players.
Immediately after, the fireball collides with the ground, causing a massive explosion.
In the next instant, not a single player remains in the area.
Total annihilation, a complete victory for Dark Faith.
「Phew. Looks like we did it!」
「Yeah. But now we’re completely out of MP… Hey, Lucifer! What were you thinking?!」
「…Sorry. I just lost my cool.」
As Destroy confronts him, Lucifer mutters with his head down.
Seeing Lucifer acting so differently from usual, Destroy and Rayleigh exchange glances.
Then, Destroy lets out a big sigh.
「Well, I guess it’s fine? We collected quite a few medals with that move!」
「That’s right! We have the Goddess’s Bracelet too, so let’s just take it easy and gather medals until our MP recovers!」
At those words, Lucifer’s expression relaxes as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.
Immediately after, he clears his throat loudly and spreads both arms wide.
「Hmph, they weren’t even worth mentioning! Now then, let us seek our next prey!」
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